John Morris will make curling history in Calgary.

The Olympic gold medalist from 2010 will skip the first rink to represent Team Canada at a Brier after changes to the format were made to mirror the Scotties Tournament of Hearts.

"This is an historic event. Having a Team Canada there and to be asked to skip it from the other guys, it's amazing," Morris told TSN.ca in a recent interview. "I feel great and very grateful for it and I'm looking forward to putting on that Maple Leaf at the Saddledome."

The funny thing is Morris lost in the Brier final last year in Kamloops, BC to the team he now skips.

Third Pat Simmons, second Carter Rycroft and lead Nolan Thiessen were led by Kevin Koe in 2014 and downed Morris in the final to win the national title. Koe left his squad in the off-season, hoping for a better chance at Olympic glory in 2018, creating a vacant spot at the skip position.

The 36-year-old Morris had planned to take the season off to focus on his firefighter career, but couldn't resist the chance to dawn the Maple Leaf for Team Canada at the Brier when he got the offer.

Despite the automatic entry to the Canadian championship, the foursome has had a tough time on the World Curling Tour circuit this season, only appearing in three Grand Slam events and the Canada Cup.

Their best finish came at The National in November where they lost to Brendan Bottcher in the quarters. They went 1-5 at the Canada Cup in December.

"It's been tough really to get into the zone and personally, I don't think I've played as well as I wanted to and I think we still have a lot to prove as a team," said the Ottawa native.

One of the reasons for the shaky start can probably be attributed to the team's living arrangements. Most competitive rinks reside in the same city, giving them ample time to practice and work on their game together.

Not so much for Team Morris.

Morris lives in Chestermere, Simmons splits his time between Moose Jaw and Calgary, Rycroft resides in Sherwood Park and finally Thiessen calls Spruce Grove home. Not too far, but far enough for regular practice to be unmanageable when jobs are part of the mix.

"Ideally, you'll be living in the same city and playing a lot of events together and that's the best way to learn and develop. But we didn't have that luxury. And I think you see it with a lot of the new teams out there. You know with Koe's team and Howard's team, a few other new teams out there, it takes a bit of time to gel," explained Morris. "It doesn't happen overnight. One of the great things with us is that our dynamic is very strong; we're all on the same page. There hasn't been any dissension, even though we haven't had an ideal start earlier in the season."

Although the foursome has picked their play up as of late, helping Canada win the Continental Cup and being a shot away from victory at the TSN Skins Game in January.

"We feel with a good training camp and some great practices before the Brier, I think that's going to get us into a great mind frame and we'll all be raring to go here," he said.

The 'training camp' Morris spoke of began on Wednesday. All members of the team, including coach and father Earle Morris, gathered in Calgary to prepare for the Brier as one.

Last year, Morris found quick success with Jim Cotter and his British Columbia rink after being together for only a few months. The group knew each other over the years from the WCT and the chemistry was instantaneous as they made the final at the Canadian Curling Trials as well as the Brier final.

Morris says his team from 2014 worked a lot on their mechanics to get better, but this rink is the complete opposite.

"The biggest things with these guys is that we're going to take a little different approach with this training camp and going to develop a little bit more off-ice chemistry, some communication stuff and I think that's a better approach with these guys than working eight hours a day on mechanics," said Morris.

Most know Morris from his seven-year stint throwing third stones for Kevin Martin, one of the greatest teams in curling history, and winning two Briers, one world championship and the gold medal at the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. But before those glory days, Morris skipped his own squad in Ontario for a decade and even made a Brier final, losing to Randy Ferbey, as a 24-year-old in 2002.

Morris says he's a different player during this second go-around as the man in charge.

"I definitely gained some insight and some perspective on the game. I've learned to be a bit more patient," explained Morris. "I still think I'm a bit of a perfectionist, especially when it comes to myself. I feel like I've got a lot to prove still because I haven't played my best yet this year, so I'm really looking forward to breaking that out in Calgary."

And of course, the time under the tutelage of "The Old Bear" only proved to be positive.

"I've learned quite a bit of that from Kevin [Martin]. I think I was bit more of a risk-taker before that and sometimes made the wrong impulsive decisions. I've learned to be a bit more patient and really utilize the scoreboard better," said Morris.

When it comes to post-Brier and 2018 Olympic plans, Team Morris is undecided.

"My plans for after the season include working and hunting and fishing and doing anything outdoors and enjoying my time off," said the skip. "Our focus all year has just been this Brier and we're not going to even go down that road until hopefully after the Brier."

You can catch all the action live throughout the week on TSN and you can follow the latest news on TSN.ca. Draw 1 goes Saturday Feb. 28 at 3:30pm et/1:30 pm mt on TSN1, TSN3, TSN4 and TSN5.